Before deploying a new server, even a shiny new example from a tier 1 manufacturer, testing is still required. It’s far better to shakedown a server before deployment, than have your users do the testing for you!

While there are many tools available, I find Prime95 particularly useful. Not only does it do a thorough job of stress testing the processor, you’ll need however to run a separate instance for each core, but it has the handy side effect of giving other hardware areas a workout too.

     

Active Directory management and maintenance has become one of the core tasks in administering a Windows network. Even in a smaller organization where AD use may not be all encompassing, ensuring the health of you AD is still critical.

Possibly most important of all, the age-old mantra – check your backups.  While you may not have spare servers lying around to test your restores, the current state of virtualization makes this task somewhat less arduous.

Probably the most common Active Directory troubleshooting task you’ll perform relates to Group Policy Objects (GPO’s).

1. Use GPUPDATE.EXE to ensure the machine is getting the latest group policy settings.
2. Test using GPRESULT.EXE to show which policies are actually being applied to a machine. This is often very useful in narrowing down your search to a few policies that may be the culprit.
3. Check the event log for messages with the event source "SceCli" as these often give additional clues to your problem.

Finally don't forget, Microsoft provides a plethora of resources at their Active Directory site.